It turns out that the cash in your wallet may be contaminated with the dangerous chemical BPA. A recent study found that BPA (a widely used chemical that causes genetic damage, miscarriages, birth defects and acts like a hormone) is present in paper money. Water bottles, baby bottles and sippy cups just a few years ago were almost all made from BPA-containing plastic (although many are now BPA-free). The linings in food cans often contain BPA. Now we have to deal with BPA contamination in an item that we literally touch multiple times a day.

So how did BPA, commonly used in the clear hard plastic called polycarbonate, find its way into our paper currency? BPA is so widely used by industry that it has become ubiquitous in the environment. One potential source in paper money is thermal paper—the kind that’s used in inkless cash register receipts. The traces of BPA (found in the powdery film on the receipt paper) MAY rub off and transfer from receipts to our dollar bills (ie. every time a receipt is placed near the money in a cash register or wallet; or whenever we touch a receipt before touching money, etc).

If the happiness of mothers was doctors’ main concern, they would reassure them that they have the strength, intelligence and courage to go through the most transformative event they will ever experience: giving birth to their child. Doctors would kindly and firmly focus mothers and fathers in a new life direction — that of placing more emphasis on the happiness and well-being of their child than on their own.

Perhaps it is neither the mother’s nor the child’s happiness that has contributed to the staggering statistic of one in three Americans giving birth by having major surgery. Is the doctors’ convenience also a factor? After all, who likes getting called out of bed in the middle of the night to care for someone who needs you?

Each year, 200,000 US women have surgery to treat urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Eleven percent of women in this country will have this type of surgery by the time they’re 80 years old — that’s a lifetime risk of one in nine. Of those who have surgery to treat prolapse, one third will end up back in the operating room at least once.

Millions more will suffer without any treatment at all: 50% of women will experience urinary incontinence at some point in life, and 50% of mothers will have some form of POP.

Kegel exercises — when performed correctly — are a highly effective treatment for urinary incontinence and POP. The exercises are simple, promote self-care, and they’re completely safe.

It seems obvious that babies who sleep with their parents are likely to breastfeed more than babies who sleep in a separate room. They will probably nurse more often and nurse for a longer duration of their lives. A study published in the November 2010 issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has verified this assumption, showing that breastfeeding is more prevalent in families where babies share a bed with their parents (Blair, 2010)…

Bed sharing (or cosleeping) itself is also beneficial to babies. The close contact of parents and their babies through the night is associated with less crying, fewer apnea spells, lower stress levels, and greater daily growth (Field, 1995). Bed sharing is also protective for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). A study in South Africa showed that bed sharing babies have higher survival rates than solitary sleeping babies (Kibel, 2000). In cultures where bed sharing is the norm (Japan, Hong Kong) SIDS rates are among the lowest in the world (Fukai, 2000; Lee, 1999).

Christmas can be a budget breaker for many families but it really doesn’t have to be. My husband and I are so conditioned that we now scour Craiglist, eBay, and our local thrift stores before we buy just about anything these days. We have come to HATE paying full price for anything when we know we can get such good deals and we can knock out our Christmas shopping list during a good estate auction or two. Just recently we bought a NIB wrought iron canopy bed for my daughter off of Craiglist, a microscope for homeschool off a local college student, and my husband picked up a large terrarium set-up w/stand and lights at an auction, for my son (well actually for a bearded dragon).